ISS Combustion Integrated Rack Successfully Conducts Its First Test

The Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) Growth and Extinction Limits (GEL) experiment successfully conducted its first test in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on January 13th.

This image shows a 4-cm diameter sphere of acrylic burning in microgravity. The atmosphere started at 17.5% oxygen in nitrogen and air flow is from right to left at 20 cm/s.

The flame appears near the end of the burn, having engulfed the entire sphere after growing from a small ignition point on the right side. Image courtesy of NASA.

jsc2023e002281 (1/13/2023) – larger image